snapshot photographica
by puppetierin
Summary: drabbles. Namine interacts with Zexion; Xigbar and Axel toast their lost friends; Mickey mourns Sora's destiny; Riku and Selphie and Riku's hair; Larxene's origins.
1. Monochromacity is a Lie

**hey y'all, long time no upload! On this account, I'm trying to consolidate all the fanfic I've published online. These particular drabbles were posted on kh_drabble on Livejournal, under the username deadarchitect, in late 2009/early 2010.**

**anyway, I hope you enjoy. Kingdom Hearts and all affiliated characters do not belong to me.**

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_theme: Apology_

[he chooses the color she will never see outside a paper wrapping]

"This is enough to keep you busy?"

She bowed her head over the sketchbook and folded her hands. "Not even books," he continued, shaking his head. Namine wondered if this action was pitying – his color was hard to tell – "I can't read," she said. She watched his color change to a warmly-tinted purple as his eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"

Namine winced and immediately hoped that her hair covered her face. The other one _Marluxia_ was tinted a darker purple (royal, suggested the part of her that wasn't really there) than this one Zexion but he was dangerous, so dangerous, it would be silly to alter his color more than necessary. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"You're sorry?"

Namine felt a shiver go down her spine as she watched his colors flutter from redviolet to the more sedate lavender he had introduced himself as. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said, drawing himself inwards and up. "It is your Somebody who has withdrawn reading as well as emotion. Shame on her." His color darkened as he looked at her bowed head a little longer. "Give me your sketchpad, please." He flipped it open and took a crayon from those scattered on the table – pale green, she noted – and printed in large letters N-A-M-I-N-E. "Your name," he said, his color mellowing again.

Namine noticed her cheeks – they were doing something funny, they almost hurt with the feeling of it – and decided (lamely) that she rather liked this one, this _Zexion._


	2. Toasts

_theme: sweet things  
_

[like a bridge over troubled waters]_  
_

When Xigbar walks in on Axel's drinking binge, he hesitates under a load of crashing notes and the soft sound of the sea. He can see that Axel's fire is dimming – even his hair seems to be drooping as he stares into a tumbler of something golden – and is wise enough to know that he, too, is tired.

"Hey dude." Xigbar seizes a glass from a nearby cupboard and sinks into a chair opposite Axel. "Top me off."

Axel stares blankly at the cup for a little longer and then raises his eyes to meet Xigbar's. He gets a good long look at those eyes and can tell that they are searching for something they've never had to worry about before. Xigbar decides to give him a gentle shove. "Gonna leave me hanging, man?"

Axel's face seems to crumple and crease a little, buckling under a familiar weight, and picks up a bottle at random, filling Xigbar's cup to the brim.

"Cheers," he says. Before Xigbar can down it, Axel adds, "To Demyx." Xigbar nods and raises his glass. "To Roxas."

The passage of time is marked by the flow of alcohol and then Axel puts down his tumbler. "Feelings," mumbles Axel, slouching so his chin rests on his forearm. "Sight. Sound. 'N… feeling." He wiggles a hand. "Ya know?"

"Yeah." "And taste." "Yeah." He nods and returns to nursing the drink. "It never tasted bitter before," he says suddenly mid-sip, slopping the liquid over his cloak. "It was always… sour, or salty and sweet, kinda nice." Xigbar grunts an affirmative. "Some people…"

"When they left," interrupts Xigbar, feeling the weight of the ocean between his shoulders, "they just left the bitterness."

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**KH and all affiliated characters do not belong to me.**


	3. For the Friends of the Mouse King

_theme: anticipation_

[it's only a matter of time; it's been that way for a while]

He's seen it happening for years – a wrinkle in Kairi's forehead, a gravity in Sora's soul that pulls his smile down – and he can tell that this will be the last time.

There was, of course, the tension in the beginning, when they were still getting used to each other and the sudden desires that pulled their bodies together but that wasn't quite strong enough to stop their parting _again_ – by the darkness, what else?

When they met again they swore things to each other that the King had vague ideas of and got married, until Sora had to leave four days into their honeymoon to help a people Worlds away, people whose lives rested on the slim tines of the Keyblade.

And therein lies the problem, King Mickey knows.

The next time there was a baby and the King could hear the silent break of hearts in the room as he arrived to give Sora the bad news (again, again, again). Years passed before he could come back to the Islands for more than a few days at a time and their son (and then daughter, too) grew up wild and with shaded lights shining in their wide seablue eyes.

This (the last, the King hopes) time, this time he could see Roxas behind Sora's face, as if Sora weren't strong enough anymore and he needed more than he could find out in a whole ocean of Worlds.

And what can he do, after all? He knows he deserves every drop of hatred that lurks in Kairi and Sora's hearts – it's a war with no guarantee of victory or even some sort of possibility of truce.

He's been fighting it far longer than either of them. Death, darkness, poisons he's been evading for years with Minnie's _Curaga_ and _Reflega_ and he wouldn't dare to give this to anyone else. He's waiting for outcomes to things Ansem set in motion so long ago and one is bad but the other is so much worse – _the children! _– he just wants Sora to take the Keyblade and threaten him with death, maybe throw the damn weapon across the library and into one of his servants so the Keyblade would know that Sora's too tired to go on now…

And when King Mickey sees that day (he knows it's soon), he will cry with joy for his friend.

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**Mickey Mouse, KH, and all affiliated characters/and so forth do not belong to me.**


	4. Rushing to Meet You

**the pairing Riku/Selphie was really popular at the time. One of the worse drabbles here.**

* * *

"Uhm. Selphie. What the - … are these for?"

"To keep your hair out of your eyes," she said, looking surprised. "Did you really have to ask?"

"…They're pink."

"That's the only color they had, I'm sorry," said Selphie. "If you have to wear your hair long, at least keep it out of your face. Hmmkay?"

Riku sighed at her. "Of all the things to get a guy."

"I'm pretty sure they had those cute magenta bellyshirts in your size. D'you want me to ask Kairi?" Selphie jumped up and dusted off the hem of her dress, preparing to dash down the slight slope of the cliff. Riku seized her hand and pulled her back down.

"Wait! Fine. I'll wear the pink things. Okay?" She beamed at him and sat down again. He pulled them off of the cardboard with some difficulty and shoved them rather haphazardly into the hair surrounding his face. This managed to pull most of the hair away, leave a silver fringe and create awkward-looking bumps on the top of his head, all at once. "How does it look?"

Selphie caught the snort in her elbow. "Heeeeeeey. Don't be rude," said Riku, a tad blushingly. Her laughs subsided to giggles and she leaned forward to adjust some of them. "Better," she said, and she paused to take in the details of his face. "You'll be able to see the fireworks better, too."

He stared at her for a few seconds and tried to say something, but he looked something between mortified and shocked and quickly ducked his head, face reddening.

"You know something?" asked Selphie suddenly. Riku glanced up at her. "…What?"

"You're really cute." She swooped in and stole a kiss. When she drew back to look at him again (he looked almost too surprised), she added, "…But it's good I got you the hair things. Looks like I'm going to have to wear the pants in this relationship!"

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**(shrug) KH and all affiliated characters do not belong to me.**


	5. Experiments in Royalty

**originally, this story had a lot of font and space effects to emphasize the transformation. I can't figure out how to get them back in on here, though; freaking . Please try to enjoy it, regardless!**

**I really enjoyed the idea of Larxene's Somebody being a princess - since Squisney has a history with princesses-of-this-and-that, I thought it would be neat to look at how she changed. This was unprompted, unlike the rest of the drabbles.**

**KH and all affiliated characters do not belong to me.**

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[once, life was simple.]

Lumaria loved flowers.

That was all Aerlen knew about him, so she went to a meadow and laid down among the plants that waved slowly with the breeze and breathed deeply in the odor of meadowsweet.

She imagined that it would smell like him and pretended that she was lying next to him. Aerlen. His voice sounded like the wind between the grass. Aerlen. His eyes were the cool blue of the sky. Aerlen. His hair was as soft and fragrant as the petals of nearby blossoms. Aerlen!

She woke to twilight with her maid and a groom waiting with horses.

"Does milady wish us to pitch a tent?"

"…I'll return tomorrow."

0

Aerlen loved everything. Unconditionally.

Her kingdom (which was never to be hers) loved her back. It loved her smooth gold hair and her affinity for little children and how perfect she was.

Aerlen loved being perfect. She stitched herself up into lacy dresses and broke her feet into crystal slippers and danced with the best. The belle of the ball. Her mother was so proud, really, watching her mince words with a gentleman at a table for two off the dance floor.

Aerlen loved this boy she was talking to, too. No… man. Curious, really. Their kingdoms were small and neighborly so they grew up side-by-side and she loved this man-child dearly and it made her heart flutter to think of him… but Lumaria, he was there. Lumaria…

She couldn't help him that she loved her prince so much, despite how clearly he was not there, with her, no written word or messenger or even a sign that he acknowledged their soon-to-be marriage…

She excused herself away from her dear dear friend, her fluttering heart constricted (so against its will) and allowed another dancer to sweep her away.

0

His messenger arrived in shockingly bright robes with even brighter hair. "The messenger Axel, your majesty," said the page, before exiting the hall and closing the door behind him.

"Lumaria sent me."

Aerlen stepped back reflexively at the man's voice, heels clicking against the stone floor. Uncultured and rough. Sly and mocking. Like… a cat. "Is something wrong, your majesty?"

His eyebrows twitched just a little at "majesty" and she knew at once that he was laughing at her. Aerlen pursed her lips for a split second – to allow a messenger to set her at such unease … Unthinkable! -and walked over to one of the stone ledges that sat between columns and settled herself partially in the afternoon sunlight. She looked at Axel. "Tell me what he said, please."

"Does everybody from your kingdom have such… exotic hair?" asked Aerlen, nodding to Axel's shockingly bright spikes.

"No need to be so polite with me, milady," he said, smiling – not so poisonously as before. "I know it's strange here. This was the fashion before I left."

"And does the prince follow the fashions?"

"To some degree. He is meticulous about keeping clean and presentable… which is good because he spends so much time grubbing around in the gardens…but never to fashion as devotedly as I." The grin turned a little smug. "Here, it is the women who dress gaily, but in our kingdom, only boys and cocky young men are allowed frivolous clothing."

"Is your hair dyed, then?" Aerlen looked very interested. "I prefer 'enhanced'," said Axel, turning his roguish smile on her at full force.

Aerlen found herself looking away for the first time.

0

He grew warmer every day, the more time she spent with him, so she came to love contact with him. Her friend and her parents and her maid, they all fell away and there was only Axel.

"I love you," she told him.

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"It doesn't matter, Aerlen," he said, rolling over onto his stomach and propping his chin on his fists. "You're engaged to Lumaria."

"I… I can have that nullified if I want."

"Can you?" He didn't look convinced. "You seem pretty bound."

"Ohh." She squeezed her eyelids shut. "Can't we just… leave this place?"

"I could take you away."

"Could you?"

"Yeah."

"You wouldn't like it, though." He closed his own eyes.

"I would like it," said Aerlen. "If I were with you."

"I don't think you would feel that way," said Axel.

"I would!"

"Can you swear that?"

"Yes." Axel held out his hand. Aerlen took it. "Are you ready?"

"Of course."

He laughed at her and let go. "Go to sleep, Aerlen."

She pouted and rolled over, too disappointed to let him see.

0

Axel eased out of the bed and summoned a Shadow; he set the bobbing and weaving creature where he had been lying and it went to Aerlen immediately, sniffing at the darkness he had planted in her heart. Axel opened a portal and stepped in, but not before casting one last look back at the sleeping princess.

0

Aerlen Aerlen aerlen

THIS IS MY NAME no I WON'T CHANGE IT (for you) or ANYBODY GET AWAY YOU'RE DEAD? BUT YOUR HEART (MY HEART)WHERE IS IT! AND oh god I CAN'T BEAR I CAN'T—

0

Dark flowers for Lumaria.

0

… bear. . . ?

0

She woke up in some other place with another man in front of her and he was telling her a name and it was

larxene larxene Larxene.

So she was no longer Aerlen and Lumaria and her dear dear friend were gone and she had a new life now and she felt good and there were no heels or frothy dresses to wear and she felt no regret.

Nothing. Nobody. Ha! She was grateful to Axel. She was her own person now, unreliant on princes like Lumaria and protections like servants and parents and none of these people could control her!

She was the storm.


End file.
